Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department takes to ensure that people who spread sludge monitor potential toxic elements contained in the product.

The use of sewage sludge on agricultural soils is regulated under the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations (SUiAR). These regulations and their supporting Code of Practice include maximum permissible concentrations of potentially toxic elements in soil after application of sewage sludge and maximum annual rates of application. Information on these regulations and the Code of Practice for sewage sludge in agriculture can be found on the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sewage-sludge-in-agriculture-code-of-practice.

Compliance checking against the SUiAR is undertaken by the Environment Agency (EA). On 17 March the EA published its Sludge Strategy to facilitate the safe and sustainable use of sludge on land. This strategy sets out the purpose, principles and priorities for delivering change to the regulation of sludge. Defra and the EA are working together to update the current legislation and provide industry and the public with the confidence that sludge is being managed correctly and safely.